Its a shame such a beautiful office tower is having such problems. The back story is this: IBM built the building only because there was a restrictive covenant on the height of the parcel accross the street frame right above. That was the a 5 story building that allowed spectacular lake views down the river from IBM. It had for years been one of the better business addresses. Somehow Trump got the covenant removed when he bought the neighbor parcel and has built an 88 story building directly in front of the IBM building, cutting off the lake views and sending office rental rates into a free fall.
Last I heard there was a plan to sell off the office units as office "condos", to small businesses. But the building lends itself to massive operations requiring expansive floor plates.
A hotel would just seem odd in such a building. Like 55 Monroe, a Miesen inspired office building by SOM, which theyre adding balconies to for condos. Its just a strange metamorphosis for these modernist boxes as stiff as the grey flannel suites who built them to softer lives.
Mies was even nice enough of a guy that he stepped back his building to preserve most of the views of his onetime pupil's residential towers immediately to the west of this building.
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Its a shame such a beautiful office tower is having such problems. The back story is this: IBM built the building only because there was a restrictive covenant on the height of the parcel accross the street frame right above. That was the a 5 story building that allowed spectacular lake views down the river from IBM. It had for years been one of the better business addresses. Somehow Trump got the covenant removed when he bought the neighbor parcel and has built an 88 story building directly in front of the IBM building, cutting off the lake views and sending office rental rates into a free fall.
Last I heard there was a plan to sell off the office units as office "condos", to small businesses. But the building lends itself to massive operations requiring expansive floor plates.
A hotel would just seem odd in such a building. Like 55 Monroe, a Miesen inspired office building by SOM, which theyre adding balconies to for condos. Its just a strange metamorphosis for these modernist boxes as stiff as the grey flannel suites who built them to softer lives.
Mies was even nice enough of a guy that he stepped back his building to preserve most of the views of his onetime pupil's residential towers immediately to the west of this building.
i think a hotel program would give the building a bit more heart, and activity. it was a little empty when i visited chicago.
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